Top Kurdistan Region officials congratulate Joe Biden on US presidential election win
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on winning the US elections.
By mid-Saturday, most major US-based media organizations tracking the election results across the country had declared Biden and Harris—the first woman ever to hold the US vice-presidential post—the victors.
"I congratulate @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris," Prime Minister Barzani said in a tweet. "I look forward to continuing the close, strong cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and the US."
Barzani also highlighted the importance of Washington-Erbil ties, stating, "our partnership is crucial to regional stability and prosperity."
I congratulate @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris.
— Masrour Barzani پابەندین# (@masrour_barzani) November 7, 2020
I look forward to continuing the close, strong cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and the US.
Our partnership is crucial to regional stability and prosperity. -mb.
Shortly after the prime minister, top Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani also expressed well-wishes at the news, calling Biden his "friend."
“I express my heartfelt congratulations to you, my friend, President-elect @JoeBiden for your victory.” Masoud Barzani leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party said in a tweet.
Masoud Barzani added, “I sincerely hope and pray that the free world under your leadership will witness more peace and prosperity.”
I express my heartfelt congratulations to you, my friend, President-elect @JoeBiden for your victory. I sincerely hope and pray that the free world under your leadership will witness more peace and prosperity.
— Masoud Barzani (@masoud_barzani) November 7, 2020
Furthermore, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the US, Bayan Sami Rahman, said in a tweet: “Congratulations @JoeBiden on your election as President of the United States and to Kamala Harris as the country's first female vice president."
She added that the KRG "looks forward to continuing our strong partnership," and thanked President Donald Trump for his support over the past four years.
Congratulations @JoeBiden on your election as President of the United States and to @KamalaHarris as the country's first female vice president. @kurdistan looks forward to continuing our strong partnership. We thank President @realDonaldTrump for his support the past four years. https://t.co/Q6Wdcx2UAU
— Bayan Sami Rahman (@BayanRahman) November 7, 2020
Joe Biden has a long-standing friendship with the Kurds, both as a senator and later as Barack Obama’s vice president. In 2007, as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Sam Brownback (R, Kansas), Biden sponsored a bipartisan, non-binding resolution calling for federalism in Iraq and the decentralization of authority in Baghdad.
Read More: Super Tuesday: Joe Biden and the Kurds
In late 2017, Kurdistan 24 reporter Laurie Mylroie chanced to see Biden at a local grocery store. People had gathered around him and were asking him questions. So Mylroie joined in with a question about Obama’s policy toward the Kurds.
“Masoud Barzani is a good friend of mine,” Biden responded, “and I wished we could have done more for the Kurds.”
“Why didn’t you?” Mylroie responded. “Turkey,” he answered.
Editing by Khrush Najari